Rear body construction for an automobile

ABSTRACT

An automobile includes a rear body portion with a trunk space in which a fuel tank is disposed immediately behind the closure wall for the passenger compartment. The backing of the rear seat is formed by a continuation of the passenger compartment floor plate upwardly in a curve behind the seat location. The backing or end wall and the passenger compartment floor are advantageously made of a single plate thereby forming a seal of the passenger compartment in respect to the rear trunk space behind the end wall. A fuel tank is mounted within the trunk space directly behind the curved plate end-wall and it is located over a trunk floor having an opening to the exterior to provide means for dumping the gasoline outwardly below the trunk space in the event of an accident and a rupture of the gas tank. The rear portion of the body is simply formed by tack welding of the upwardly curved rear plate, forming a continuation of the passenger compartment floor at each of its sides to extension of an interior tire housing and to a shelf portion formed at the rear of the vehicle above the trunk space. The tire housing on each side is easily spot welded immediately to both sides of the backing plate and the floor plate. With the method of the invention, the floor plate with the upwardly extending protection wall formation is easily tack welded to extensions of a tire housing on each side of the vehicle to complete the interconnection of a floor assembly to a side assembly of the vehicle at the rear thereof.

nitei l States Mitamura et all.

atent [54] REAR lBOlDY CONSTRUCTION FOR AN AUTOMOBILE [72] Inventors:Rakuzo Mitamura, Hekikai-gun;

Masatoshi Yamaya; Masakatsu Suzuki, both of Okazaki, all of JapanMitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: Nov.4, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 86,796

[73] Assignee:

Primary Examiner-Robert G. Sheridan Attorney-McGlew and Toren ABSTRACTAn automobile includes a rear body portion with a trunk space in which afuel tank is disposed immediately behind the closure wall for thepassenger compartment. The backing of the rear seat is formed by acontinuation of the passenger compartment floor plate upwardly in acurve behind the seat location. The backing or end wall and thepassenger compartment floor are advantageously made of a single platethereby forming a seal of the passenger compartment in respect to therear trunk space behind the end wall. A fuel tank is mounted within thetrunk space directly behind the curved plate end-wall and it is locatedover a trunk floor having an opening to the exterior to provide meansfor dumping the gasoline outwardly below the trunk space in the event ofan accident and a rupture of the gas tank. The rear portion of the bodyis simply formed by tack welding of the upwardly curved rear plate,forming a continuation of the passenger compartment floor at each of itssides to extension of an interior tire housing and to a shelf portionformed at the rear of the vehicle above the trunk space. The tirehousing on each side is easily spot welded immediately to both sides ofthe backing plate and the floor plate. With the method of the invention,the floor plate with the upwardly extending protection wall formation iseasily tack welded to extensions of a tire housing on each side of thevehicle to complete the interconnection of a floor assembly to a sideassembly of the vehicle at the rear thereof.

12 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAY 91972 i 3,661,419

sum 2 or 4 PRIOR ART) FIGA (PRR AW) FIGS (PRIOR ART) FIG.

INVENTORE MKUZO MITAMURW MA-SZTOSHI MMAYQ BY MAS'AIMTSU SUZUKI ATI'ORNEYS' PATENTEDMM 91972 3,661,419

sum 3 OF 4 1 (PRIOR ART) FIG. 7

(PRIOR ART) FIGS INVENTORS RAKUZO MITAMUFM MASA TOSHI YJMA Y4 BY M4514KATSU SUZUKI REAR BODY CONSTRUCTION FOR AN AUTOMOBILE SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION This invention relates in general to the construction ofvehicles, and, in particular, to a new and useful automobileconstruction with a rear body portion formed with a back wall comprisinga continuation of the floor plate and providing a seal over a gas tankmounting immediately behind this wall in the trunk space, with the gastank being located over an opening in the trunk floor plate wall toprovide for a spilling of the gasoline into the opening and out of thevehicle in the event of a collision and rupturing of the tank.

Prior to the present invention, it was known to construct a passengervehicle with. a continuous floor plate which extended through the rearof the passenger compartment and into the trunk space. A separating wallwas then built up over the floor plate at a location at which itextended upwardly over the rear axle. A gasoline tank was mounted on thefloor plate at its highest point rearwardly of the rear seat, and a rearprotection wall and at this location. The construction provided a dangerfor gas leakage and liquid gasoline leakage into the passengercompartment between the connection of the rear wall plate and the floorplates. In addition, the construction made it difficult to effect easymass production assembly of the side housing of the vehicle with thefloor plate assembly since the prior art arrangements required theinterconnection of many individual plate elements and brackets whichwere both time consuming and costly. The prior art construction also hadthe further disadvantage that any rupture of the compartment space whichmay be caused by a rear end collision would be apt to produce a greaterseparation between the trunk space with the gas tank and the passengerspace so that the danger of leakage of gasoline into the passenger spacewas increased.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a rearvehicle body construction wherein the floor plate which extends throughthe passenger space is curved upwardly at the end of the passenger spaceand forms a rear separating wall and the interior floor of the trunk isformed by an additional member connected to the rear part of this plateadjacent the floor level thereof. The trunk floor plate is provided withan opening and at a location at which the plate extends over the rearaxle and where the gasoline tank is to be mounted directly behind thecurved plate passenger space and trunk separating wall. Thus, any dangerof rupture or leakage in respect to the gasoline tank will be lessenedbecause the gas will either be vented or dropped immediately through theopening located directly beneath the tank in the trunk floor plate. Thefloor assembly may be easily connected to the floor portion extendingthrough the passenger space and the whole floor portion extendingthrough the passenger space, including the partition wall between thepassenger space and the trunk is easily and simply welded to the sidetire housing assemblies of the body. The resultant arrangement is easilyto mass produce and is very safe from the operational standpoint andfrom the gas leakage standpoint. In addition, the passenger space issealed from the trunk space so that there is little likelihood for thecontamination of the passenger compartment with gas fumes. Theconstruction provides a secure fastening by spot welding at both sidesof the floor plate with the back wall continuation to the side housingportions for the tires so that the interior is sealed against thepenetration of water or dirt. The construction is such that even if thewhole trunk space is deformed and including the gas tank so that itruptures there is no likelihood of danger of leakage of the gasolineinto the passenger compartment. This is because the tank is locatedimmediately over an opening in the floor plate portion extending intothe trunk and the gasoline from this tank can spill immediately throughthe opening to the exterior of the vehicle, and also because thepassenger compartment floor and wall plate provides substantially apermanent sealing between the trunk space and the passenger compartment.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improvedautomobile construction which includes a compartment floor plate whichextends at the rear of the passenger compartment space upwardly to ashelf area which extends rearwardly over a trunk space defined behindthe upwardly extending wall portion and wherein the trunk space includesa trunk floor plate connected to the lower portion of the floor plate ofthe passenger compartment having a mounting for a gas tank directlybehind the upwardly curved portion of the compartment floor plate andwith an opening therethrough for the spillage of gasoline therethroughwhenever leakage is apt to occur.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rear body of anautomobile which has a fuel tank disposed behind the backing of a rearseat which is formed by an upward extension of the floor plate of thepassenger space, and which includes an inner tire housing on each sidewhich is seam welded directly to the floor plate and the upwardextension thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automobileconstruction which is sirnple in design, rugged in construction, andeconomical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, itsoperating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, referenceshould be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In The Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an automobile constructed inaccordance with the prior art;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial section showing the rear portion of theprior art automobile shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line III-HI of FIG. 2 of the prior art;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the rear of an automobileof the prior art;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of another type of prior artconstruction;

FIG. 6 is a schematic exploded transverse sectional view of a PRIOR ARTautomobile construction showing the manner in which the parts areassembled;

FIG. 7 is another rear perspective view of another type of constructionof the prior art;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the rear portion of the priorart vehicle in a damaged condition for example, which may be suffered asa result of a rear end collision;

FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the rear portion of a vehicleconstructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 10 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the rear portion ofa vehicle constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 11 is a section taken on the line XI-XI of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a partial sectional view taken along the lines XIIXII of FIG.10, showing the manner in which spot welding may be done very easily;and

FIG. 13 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the rear portion ofthe vehicle constructed in accordance with the invention showing themanner in which the rear end collision would affect the structuralparts.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The prior art constructions areindicated in FIGS. 1 to 8 inclusive. One example, of a structure of theconventional rear body portion of a vehicle, particularly an automobile,includes a fuel tank 2 which is disposed behind a rear seat I in a trunkcompartment 9 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. The construction includes a rearframe generally designated 3 including a floor plate 4 having a raisedportion 4a over a rear axle 10 and which forms together with otherportions of the rear assembly a floor assembly (FIGS. 2 and 3). A rearseat 1 is disposed on the floor plate 4 and the fuel tank 2 is locateddirectly behind a rear wall 50 formed immediately behind the seat 1 onthe raised portion 4a of the floor plate 4. A rear shelf plate 8 (FIG.2) extends between a rear deck portion 7 which supports an openabletrunk lid 6 and the upper end of the rear seat 1. A trunk space 9 isdefined above the floor plate 4 within the closed lid 6 and it extendsup to the rear plate 50. As best indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4, an innertire housing part 11 is connected to an outer tire housing 11 isconnected to an outer tire housing part 12 and these parts areinterconnected by seam welding along flanges 11a and 12a. Side pillars13 are also connected to the flange portion 11a and thereafter an outerboard 14 is welded to the outside so that a side frame sub-assembly 15is provided. A bracket 16 on the housing 11 provides means for mountinga tank 2 and a bracket 17 (FIG. 4) is provided over the housing 11 formounting the rear shelf plate 8 which is integrally welded, previously,to the housing 1 1 The floor sub-assembly 5, which is shown in FIG. 3,includes the rear frame 3 and the floor plate 4 together with the tirehousing parts is united to the frame sub-assembly 15 by spot weldingalong a flange 4a of the floor plate 4. This spot welding is along thelower end 11b of the inner tire housing 11 and is done in the mainassembling line. Since the floor plate flange 4a and the lower edge 11bof the entire housing are exposed downwardly, this spot welding may beeasily achieved. A reinforcement member 18 is integrally welded alongthe lateral extension of the floor plate 4 previously in a step in themain assembling line and the lower portion of the bracket 17 is spotwelded with this reinforcement. At the same time, the curved flange 8aof the rear shelf part 8 and the upper portion of the bracket 17 arespot welded together. In this welding operation, since the centerportion of the body is open, the spot welding may be achieved.

After the vehicle is thus assembled the bracket 19, projected on bothsides of the fuel tank 2, and the bracket 16, on the inner tire housing1 l, are integrally connected by bolts and nuts 20 (FIG. 3).

In the prior art construction shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the trunk room orspace 9 is not completely separated from the passenger space orpassenger compartment 27 so that the particles of fuel and vapors reachthe passenger compartment and the passengers will be subjected toannoying fumes. In addition, the wall 50 separating the fuel tank fromthe passenger compartment is not very rigid and any damage to the fueltank is apt to cause flooding of the passenger compartment.

In another prior art arrangement shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, similar orsubstantially identical parts are similarly designated. In thisarrangement, the rear shelf plate 8 and the floor plate 4 are connectedby a backing plate 21 which divides the fuel tank and the trunk spacefrom the passenger compartment. For the assembly of this type ofconstruction the inner tire housing 11 is previously assembled to thefloor assembly 5 and to the floor plate 4 and thereafter the inner tirehousing 11 and the backing plate 21 are spot welded together. The frameassembly 15 formed with the outer tire housing 12, the rear pillar 13and the outer board 14 and the floor sub-assembly 5 may be spot weldedalong the flange portion 11a of the inner tire housing 11. The flangeportion 11a may preferably be seam welded in order to ensure that thecompartment for the tire will be waterproof and dirt proof but aportable spot welding must be done since it is impossible to scam weld alarge assembly unit such as that shown in the drawings.

FIG. 7 shows still another prior art arrangement in which the bracket 17is previously welded to the inner tire housing 11 and the rear pillar 13so that the side frame self-assembly similar to the side frame selfassembly 15 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 is formed. The backing plate 21 isalso previously welded to the floor plate 4 and then the bracket 17 andthe backing plate 21 are spot welded at the portion 22 in the selfassembly operation on a main assembly line. Thereafter, the rear shelfplate 8 is spot welded at the portions 23 and 24 to the bracket 17 andthe backing plate 21. A construction of this type has disadvantagesinasmuch as it does not provide a fluid and dirt proof tire housing thetrunk space and the passenger compartment 27 requires a large number ofwelding operations in order to provide a strong enough rear assemblyformation and this is costly.

All of the prior art is exemplified by FIGS. 1 to 7 have the followingdisadvantages:

When an automobile constructed with a rear body arrangement of the priorart is deformed such as by rear collision as shown in FIG. 8, the fueltank 2 is deflected by the impact and, if it ruptures, the fuel spillsout of the tank 2 as shown by the arrows and a portion of the fuel willbe retained on the inner floor plate in the trunk space and anotherportion will flow into the passenger compartment space. Thisaccummulation of fuel within the vehicle is very dangerous in the eventof a subsequent fire. When the rear body is deformed there is a tendancyfor the backing plate 21 to also come off the floor plate connection sothat there is a gap 26 produced between the floor plate 4 and thebacking plate 21 which permits the flow of the fuel tank into thepassenger space. This is true even without any rear collision and thereis a tendancy for the fuel in the trunk space to exude fuels which reachthe passenger compartment.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBQDIMENT The present invention isan improvement over the prior art inasmuch as it provides a constructionwhich is simple to effect, and inexpensive, but nevertheless eliminatesthe disadvantages of the prior art mentioned above. The feature of theinvention resides primarily in the fonnation of a separation plate orbacking plate between the passenger compartment and the trunk spacecontaining the fuel tank which is formed a continuation of the passengercompartment wall in the form of an upwardly curved plate, for example atthe location where the floor plate normally extends upwardly to extendover the rear axle.

Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention as indicated inFIGS. 9 to 13 comprises an automobile or vehicle generally designated 50with a rear assembly formed of a floor plate construction generallydesignated 4 which is made up of a combination passenger compartmentfloor plate portion 4" and rear trunk space separating wall portion 21.A separate floor plate 4" forms the bottom of a trunk space 9. The floorplate 4" includes an upwardly curved separating wall portion 21' formedas a continuation of a passenger compartment wall portion 40 andintegrally formed therewith. The rear trunk wall portion 4" includes aflange portion which is spot welded as at 25 to the upwardly curvedportion 21 at the lower end thereof at the location where the frame ofthe vehicle extends upwardly over the rear axle. The upper end of thecurved upper part 21 is provided with flange 42 which is spot welded at23 to a shelf plate 8 which closes the top of the trunk space 9' inrespect to the passenger compartment 27. The rear frame 3 (FIG. 11) isspot welded to the floor plate 4 to form the floor assembly 5 The innertire housing 11 and the outer tire housing 11' are seam welded to theflange portions 11a and 12a and the bracket 16 for mounting the fueltank is welded to the bracket 19. Brackets or flanges 17 are welded to Vthe rear pillar 13 and the outer board 14' is spot welded to the tirehousings 11 and 12 to form the side frame assembly 15.

A feature of the construction of the invention is that the trunk floorplate 4" is provided with one or more through openings or holes 28 (inthis case a hole 28 on each side of the center of the floor plate 4") inorder to provide means for draining the fuel out of the trunk space 9'in the event that fuel forms therein for any reason whatsoever, such asfor example, the rupture of the fuel tank 2.

The flange portions 21a of the backing plate portion 21' and the flange17a of the bracket 17' are spot welded at the location 29 on the mainassembly line. The flange da of the passenger compartment floor plate tand the lower edge lllb of the inner tire housing 111 are spot welded atthe location 30. The flange 21a of the backing plate portion 211 and theside portion of the inner tire housing 11 are spot welded at thelocation 31, and the bracket 17 and the rear shelf plate 8 are spotwelded at the location 32. The bracket 19' of the fuel tank 2' isintegrally connected with the bracket R6 of the inner tire housing 11 sothat the fuel tank 2' is disposed immediately above the openings 2% ofthe trunk space 9. A packing 33 of a flexible material such as spongerubber provides a sealing connection between the floor plate W of thetrunk space and the fuel tank 2' at the outer periphery of the openings28.

With the arrangement of the invention, the flanges 21a of the backingplate portion 21' and the bracket flange 170' are exposed rearwardly.The flange 4a of the floor plate of the passenger compartment 4" and thelower edge lllb of the inner tire housing are exposed downwardly. Therear edges of the bracket 17 and the rear shelf plate 8' are explosedrearwardly when the floor self assembly and the side frame self assemblyare integrally bonded on the main assembly line. The spot welding at theportions 29, 30, and 31 may be readily done.

Since one supporting arm 341a as shown in FIG. 12 of the spot weldergenerally designated 34 can be inserted through the opening 28 of thefloor plate portion 4" of the trunk space 9' when the side portion ofthe inner tire housing 11' and the flange 21a of the backing plate 21'are to be bonded to each other this operation may be simply done.

A further feature of the inventive construction is that there isconsiderably less damage to the rear wall 21' when the vehicle is in arear end collision and deformed as shown schemati' cally in FIG. 13.When the fuel tank 2 is damaged by a vehicle collision sufficiently tocause the fuel leak out of the tank, it will move as indicated by arrows50 through the openings 28 and be discharged on the street. The packing33 may become separated by the fuel nevertheless tend to fall directlythrough the openings 28. Thus, even if the spot welded portion 25between the trunk space floor plate portion 4'' and the wall portion 21'should be ruptured, there will be no breaking of the seal formed by thewall portion 21' and the floor plate portion 4". Separation of the floorplate 4" from the floor plate 4" will only cause an opening whichextends into the street so that more fuel can spill out into the streetrather than to be trapped in any space within the interior. Because thecurved plate portion 21' is an integral part of the plate 4" thestructure is very strong and the communication between the trunk space 9and the passenger compartment 27 will not be likely to take place. Inaddition, with the construction of the invention the tire housings 11and 12' may be seam welded so that no dirt or water can enter into thevehicle body. Compared for example to the conventional vehicle bodyshown in FIG. 7, the present invention has only a few parts whichrequire interconnection and welding. This means that the productioncosts are vastly less expensive and may be easily accomplished.

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle rear body construction, comprising a passenger compartmentfloor plate having a generally horizontal passenger floor portion and anupwardly extending rear portion forming a passenger compartment wall, arear compartment floor plate joined to said passenger compartment floorplate adjacent the bottom of said upwardly extending rear portion andextending rearwardly to define the rear compartment floor, and an innerand outer tire housing assembly spot welded to both sides of said floorplate at said compartment wall portion and said passenger floor portion.

2. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 1, includingmeans on said rear compartment floor for mounting a gas tank, and anopening through said floor at the location of said mountin means.

3. A vehic e rear body construction, according to claim 1, wherein saidrear compartment floor includes a flange portion shaped similar to thelower portion of said compartment wall and being welded to saidcompartment wall.

A. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 1, including ashelf plate extending substantially horizontally rearwardly of the upperend of said passenger compartment wall portion and being welded thereto.

5. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 1, wherein saidinner and outer tire housing assemblies comprise an inner housing havinga downwardly extending portion and an outwardly extending portion saidoutwardly extending portion terminating in a peripheral flange, saidouter tire housing including an inner wall having a flange which iswelded to the flange of said inner tire housing.

6. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 5, including abracket carried on said inner tire housing for supporting a fuel tankand a fuel tank located in said rear compartment over said floor plateand connected to said bracket.

7. A vehicle rear body construction, comprising a passenger compartmentfloor plate having a generally horizontally extending passenger floorplate portion and an upwardly extending rear portion forming a passengercompartment wall, a rear compartment floor plate joined to saidpassenger compartment floor plate adjacent the bottom of said upwardlyextending rear portion, said rear compartment floor plate extendingsubstantially horizontally rearwardly to define a rear compartmentfloor, said rear compartment floor having at least one openingtherethrough, and a gas tank mounted in said rear compartment adjacentsaid passenger compartment wall and located so that any fuel issuingtherefrom due to leakage or rupture will move through the opening ofsaid floor.

8. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 7, includingmeans for mounting said fuel tank in said compartment above said walland providing packing therefore.

9. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 7, wherein saidrear compartment floor extends into a trunk space, said floor having anopening therein adjacent to said rear compartment wall.

10. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 9, whereinthere are two openings on each side of said rear compartment floor.

11. A vehicle rear body construction for a vehicle having a rear crossaxle for supporting two rear wheels, comprising a passenger compartmentfloor plate having a generally horizontally extending passenger floorplate portion, and having an upwardly extending rear portion adjacentthe rear axle and forming a rear passenger compartment wall, a reartrunk compartment floor plate having an upwardly offset portionterminating in a flange extending along the end which is joined to saidpassenger compartment floor plate at a location below the top of saidupwardly extending portion, a fuel tank mounted on said ofi'set portionof said rear compartment floor plate, said rear compartment compartmentfloor plate having at least one opening therethrough for the passage offuel from the fuel tank directly to the exterior of the vehicle, and aninner and outer tire housing assembly spot welded to both sides of saidfloor plate at said compartment and at said passenger floor portion.

112. A vehicle, according to claim 11, including a rear shelf welded tothe upper end of said upwardly extending portion of said passengercompartment floor plate.

1. A vehicle rear body construction, comprising a passenger compartmentfloor plate having a generally horizontal passenger floor portion and anupwardly extending rear portion forming a passenger compartment wall, arear compartment floor plate joined to said passenger compartment floorplate adjacent the bottom of said upwardly extending rear portion andextending rearwardly to define the rear compartment floor, and an innerand outer tire housing assembly spot welded to both sides of said floorplate at said compartment wall portion and said passenger floor portion.2. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 1, includingmeans on said rear compartment floor for mounting a gas tank, and anopening through said floor at the location of said mounting means.
 3. Avehicle rear body construction, according to claim 1, wherein said rearcompartment floor includes a flange portion shaped similar to the lowerportion of said compartment wall and being welded to said compartmentwall.
 4. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 1,including a shelf plate extending substantially horizontally rearwardlyof the upper end of said passenger compartment wall portion and beingwelded thereto.
 5. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim1, wherein said inner and outer tire housing assemblies comprise aninner housing having a downwardly extending portion and an outwardlyextending portion said outwardly extending portion terminating in aperipheral flange, said outer tire housing incLuding an inner wallhaving a flange which is welded to the flange of said inner tirehousing.
 6. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 5,including a bracket carried on said inner tire housing for supporting afuel tank and a fuel tank located in said rear compartment over saidfloor plate and connected to said bracket.
 7. A vehicle rear bodyconstruction, comprising a passenger compartment floor plate having agenerally horizontally extending passenger floor plate portion and anupwardly extending rear portion forming a passenger compartment wall, arear compartment floor plate joined to said passenger compartment floorplate adjacent the bottom of said upwardly extending rear portion, saidrear compartment floor plate extending substantially horizontallyrearwardly to define a rear compartment floor, said rear compartmentfloor having at least one opening therethrough, and a gas tank mountedin said rear compartment adjacent said passenger compartment wall andlocated so that any fuel issuing therefrom due to leakage or rupturewill move through the opening of said floor.
 8. A vehicle rear bodyconstruction, according to claim 7, including means for mounting saidfuel tank in said compartment above said wall and providing packingtherefore.
 9. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 7,wherein said rear compartment floor extends into a trunk space, saidfloor having an opening therein adjacent to said rear compartment wall.10. A vehicle rear body construction, according to claim 9, whereinthere are two openings on each side of said rear compartment floor. 11.A vehicle rear body construction for a vehicle having a rear cross axlefor supporting two rear wheels, comprising a passenger compartment floorplate having a generally horizontally extending passenger floor plateportion, and having an upwardly extending rear portion adjacent the rearaxle and forming a rear passenger compartment wall, a rear trunkcompartment floor plate having an upwardly offset portion terminating ina flange extending along the end which is joined to said passengercompartment floor plate at a location below the top of said upwardlyextending portion, a fuel tank mounted on said offset portion of saidrear compartment floor plate, said rear compartment compartment floorplate having at least one opening therethrough for the passage of fuelfrom the fuel tank directly to the exterior of the vehicle, and an innerand outer tire housing assembly spot welded to both sides of said floorplate at said compartment and at said passenger floor portion.
 12. Avehicle, according to claim 11, including a rear shelf welded to theupper end of said upwardly extending portion of said passengercompartment floor plate.